Tenth suspect in bond scam case files petition at Appeal Court

The tenth suspect in the bond scam case believed to have been absconding arrest, has filed a petition at the Appeal Court, challenging the decision to name him as a suspect in the case.

Ajahn Punchihewa, had stated in his petition that he had only been named as a non-executive director of Perpetual Treasuries Ltd in the bond scam report and that there were no charges against him.

Filing a petition through his lawyer, R. Dharmasri, he claimed that he had joined Perpetual Treasuries Ltd – a company accused of involvement in the bond scam, which had been run by his friend Arjun Aloysius, a chief suspect in the case.

He said he had served in the company from February 18, 2015 until July 18, 2017.

The tenth suspect sought an interim order to suspend hearings of the case at the Special High Court until a verdict is issued on the petition by the Appeal Court. The petition is to be taken up on September 10.

Punchihewa, is among the 10 suspects against whom charges have been levelled over their alleged involvement in the illegal issuance of treasury bonds of the central bank in 2015, which is believed to have resulted in millions of losses to the government.

The Attorney General had handed over indictments to eight suspects except for Punchihewa, and former central bank governor Arjuna Mahendran – a chief suspect in the case.

Both accused are believed to be absconding arrest in Singapore. An INTERPOL alert has already been issued seeking the arrest of Mahendran.